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Two spots are referred to as the Diving Board on Half Dome. The most commonly visited, but unofficial diving board is located near the summit on a small overhanging lip above the precipitous northwest face. This feature has also been named “The Visor” and is the preferred name to differentiate with the official Diving Board (as labelled on the USGS topographic maps) located just west of Half Dome and directly below the northwest face. Discussion of the Diving Board hereinafter refers to the official Diving Board. The Diving Board is the location of one of Ansel Adams’ most famous photos, Monolith, the Face of Half Dome, taken in 1927. Ansel was mesmerized by this location and described it as a “wondrous place… a great shelf of granite, slightly overhanging, and nearly 4000 feet above its base…the most exciting subject awaiting me.” 87 years later the Diving Board is just as captivating with the perspective of Half Dome from the Diving Board simply spectacular. The northwest face rises a sheer 2,000 feet and takes on the appearance of a colossal skyscraper. Most of the day the face is in the shade but in the afternoon it is slowly “revealed” from left to right as the sun progresses toward the western horizon. Ansel Adams captured this transition beautifully in his photo, remarking that he saw “the majesty of the sculptural shape of the Dome in the solemn effect of half sunlight and half shadow.” Ultimately, the entire face is illuminated by the afternoon sunlight and the evening progression brings an array of colors from grayish white in the late afternoon to yellow in the evening to orange at sunset and finally reddish at alpenglow.

The Diving Board is not far from the hustle and bustle of Yosemite Valley, but no trail reaches the point and any route requires some navigation and route finding skills. The most common and easiest route utilizes a use path that starts above Vernal Falls that travels behind Liberty Cap and Mount Broderick to Lost Lake. The use path continues past Lost Lake to a small saddle between Mount Broderick and Half Dome and then descends on the other side of the saddle before beginning a climb up steep slopes to the Diving Board. The more scenic and aesthetic route, known as “The Ledges” takes a different use path uphill from the Broderick-Half Dome Saddle to a series of well-placed ledges that cut across a granite slope. The Ledges route is the rock climbers’ approach to the popular Snake Dike route and other rock climbs in the vicinity. With close attention to cairns marking the path of least resistance, most brush can be avoided on this approach route. When the route reaches the ever-steepening cliffs of Half Dome’s southwest face, the ledges cut across the granite to climbers left. The various ledges are separated by short sections of class 3 climbing and a couple friction moves on the granite. From the ledges there are excellent views of Little Yosemite Valley, Cascade Cliffs, Bunnell Point, Mount Starr King and Mount Clark. Beyond the ledges, the approach switchbacks up to the start of the Snake Dike route. For the Diving Board, leave the approach route before it reaches the base of Half Dome and traverse right across lightly bushy terrain to a forested area in a small bowl. From the forest, travel up steep gravel slopes for the final couple hundred feet of vertical to the Diving Board.

The view from the Diving Board is remarkable. Aside from Half Dome’s massive northwest face front and center, North Dome, Basket Dome and Mount Watkins are prominent across Tenaya Canyon. Most of the major features of Yosemite Valley are visible including Glacier Point, the Royal Arches, Washington Column, Yosemite Falls, Eagle Peak and El Capitan. The view immediately below from the overhanging rock is vertigo-inducing with nearly 3,000 feet of air to the floor of Yosemite Valley. On this day, the black oaks and maple trees in the Valley were in full fall color adding further intrigue to the view at the bottom of the precipitous drop. An alternative approach route to Lost Lake is the small gully between Liberty Cap and Mount Broderick. This narrow corridor is situated between too massive, sculpted granite features and is worth the extra time and effort versus the easy usetrail above Vernal Falls. The route to this corridor between Liberty Cap and Mount Broderick begins at the point where the Mist Trail touches the granite of Liberty Cap. The use path traverses alongside the base of of Liberty Cap before dropping into the gully. Once in the gully it’s fairly obvious to head up the narrow corridor passing by some pine and fir trees along the way and a hanging valley with a meadow. The final portion enters a forest of fir and aspen before joining up with the primary use path to Lost Lake. The first dozen or so photos below are from this alternative route through the Broderick-Liberty Gap corridor and the remainder are from the Ledges Route and the Diving Board in general chronological order as the sunlight exposed the northwest face of Half Dome and the subsequent evening light progression. The Diving Board is certainly a spot I will return to experience in different season with varying light angles and clouds. I also hope to visit the spot when it is snow covered.

While I know that Yosemite Valley is beautiful any time of the year, I had not experienced the Valley in the fall and I was eager to see some new trails (for me) on the south rim. A Saturday in early November was a great opportunity with the trails on the rim remaining largely snow-free. I designed a 38+ mile tour of the south rim of Yosemite Valley from Clouds Rest to Wawona Tunnel starting with the classic ascent up the Mist Trail from Happy Isles. The aesthetic point-to-point included a number of famous vistas: Clouds Rest, Panorama Point, Panorama Point Overlook, Glacier Point, Sentinel Dome, Taft Point, Dewey Point, Crocker Point, Stanford Point, Inspiration Point and Artist Point. It was amazing to see the changing appearance of Half Dome and El Capitan, the most prominent features in the Valley, as I made my way west along the South Rim. The biggest climb (6,000+ ft) is right at the beginning from the Valley to the summit of Clouds Rest, but the 2,500 ft of climbing from Illilouette Creek to Sentinel Dome is not easy either. All told, there is probably over 12,000 ft of climbing on the route. Beyond Sentinel Dome, the final 12 miles is largely downhill save for some moderate ascent to Dewey Point after crossing Bridalveil Creek. For a high resolution 360 degree annotated panorama from the summit of Clouds Rest, click on the image below or here.

We encountered a surprising amount of snow in the shaded forest between Taft Point and Dewey Point, but overall the trails were in good condition. Panorama Point (not to be confused with Panorama Point Overlook) is a short-off trail hike along a ridgeline with nice 360 degree views. The highest point is at the end of the ridge. Panorama Point Overlook is just off the trail about 700 vertical feet below Panorama Point. A use path leaves the main trail at a switchback above Illilouette canyon, but there is no sign. It looks as if Panorama Point Overlook was once a bona fide vista, but the guardrail has since been removed (or fell off the cliff?) and it’s now one of the hidden gems of the Valley. Being late in the season, it was generally dry and the restroom facilities and water fountain at Glacier Point were closed. This means that if you are going out for a long run you must plan ahead for water locations. In fact, after Illilouette Creek, there is only one suitable water source on the route at Bridalveil Creek. Beyond Sentinel Dome, the focal point of the view is the immense granite wall of El Capitan. Taft Point is a tremendous viewpoint with some nice exposure for photogenic photography. Continuing along the rim, we enjoyed magnificent evening light as we passed Dewey Point, Crocker Point and Stanford Point. It took awhile to find the unobstructed view, but sunset at Inspiration Point was nice and post-sunset glow at Artist Point wrapped up a great day on the Yosemite trails.

The “Tenaya Rim Loop” is an outstanding and aesthetic 45+ mile circumnavigation of Tenaya Canyon along its south and north rims passing through most of the highlights of Yosemite Valley including Clouds Rest, Panorama Point, Glacier Point, Yosemite Falls, Yosemite Point and North Dome. Total elevation gain for the route as presented is 14,500 feet. It was amazing to see Half Dome and Tenaya Canyon from all directions as the day progressed. Side excursions for next time include Sentinel Dome and Mount Watkins to make it a round 50 miles. I chose my starting point (Tenaya Lake) and direction to optimize light for photography. An option to shorten the loop is to skip Glacier Point and instead head down into Yosemite Valley via the Mist Trail. However, by cutting out Glacier Point you lose an immensely scenic stretch with unique views of Half Dome and Tenaya Canyon that are not achieved at other points of the route. Overall, this is an awesome loop that hits most of the highlights of Yosemite Valley that I will surely do again. Strava route here.

The route started with a frigid thigh-deep crossing of Tenaya Creek. The legs did not get a chance to warm up before climbing snowy switchbacks up to the junction with the Sunrise Trail. Beyond this point the trail was wet in spots with some more snow patches, but I soon found myself on the final summit ridge up Clouds Rest enjoying the spectacular views from the summit. Heading down from Clouds Rest to the Nevada Falls bridge is mostly downhill and fairly fast. Beyond the Nevada Falls bridge is one of my favorite views in Yosemite including Nevada Falls, Liberty Cap, Mount Broderick and Half Dome all in the same frame. Panorama Trail featured more views into Yosemite Valley and Illilouette Falls is spectacular. Panorama Point is particularly impressive perched on top of a precipitous cliff. This point is not marked on the trail and is a short distance off-trail via a use path. The final climb up to Glacier Point is one of the most beautiful stretches of trail in the park with awesome views of Nevada and Vernal Falls and Little Yosemite Valley. After seeing hardly any other visitors the entire morning, the stream of hikers increased as I approached Glacier Point. The Point itself contained the expected bus loads of tourists, but the view is incredible despite the crowds.

I had never done the Four Mile Trail before and it was a beautiful descent into the Valley with excellent views of Sentinel Rock, El Capitan, and Cathedral Rocks. The Four Mile Trail is an example of a trail that was once paved by the park service, presumably in an era long ago when it was determined that paving was beneficial. Big parts of the pavement have since eroded away leaving uneven chunks on the trail – proof that paving should have never happened. Finally at the bottom of the Valley, I crossed the Swinging Bridge and envied the rafters on the Merced River. It was getting hot and I made sure to rehydrate at Camp Four before beginning the ascent up Yosemite Falls. Fortunately, the Yosemite Falls trail enjoys considerable shade in the afternoon hours and the climb was not that bad. I made my way up to Yosemite Point and enjoyed a snack enjoying another awesome vista of Half Dome and Yosemite Valley. Next up was North Dome with it’s unrivaled view of Half Dome’s North Face and close looks into Tenaya Canyon. The route into and out of Snow Creek is not as interesting, but still pleasant montane forest. On a saddle near Mount Watkins I enjoyed more views of Tenaya Canyon, Pywiack Cascade, the immense granite massif of Clouds Rest. The final view of the route is at Olmstead Point, where I was greeted with evening light on Half Dome and Clouds Rest.

And finally, a fun comparison of the winter and summer view from Glacier Point:

The second of three posts in a series of outings in Yosemite Valley is a trip to a favorite viewpoint, Clouds Rest. At 9,926 ft, Clouds Rest is not nearly the tallest mountain in Yosemite, but its close proximity and unobstructed perch above Yosemite Valley and Tenaya Canyon provides a spectacular viewpoint. The mountain is a colossal granite formation with striking prominence and a unique vantage of both the high country around Tuolumne Meadows and Yosemite Valley. In a 360 degree panorama, one can gaze over to Half Dome, the Clark Range, Tenaya Lake, and the Cathedral Range (including Mount Lyell, the highest point in Yosemite National Park). The most impressive feature of Clouds Rest is its northwest face, an immense granite slab polished by glaciers and descending 5,000 ft below to the base of Tenaya Canyon. One can gain the summit of Clouds Rest by two trail routes:

While the route from Yosemite Valley entails more mileage and much more elevation gain, it is more aesthetic, including the iconic Mist Trail with close views of Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls. As one ascends beyond the falls there are great views beneath the towering cliffs of Half Dome. Higher up, there are several spectacular vistas along the ridge to the summit. Clouds Rest via Yosemite Valley is a great route and worth the extra efforts in my opinion. Here are some photos from this trip to Clouds Rest from the Valley. Strava route here.

Yosemite Valley never ceases to amaze. Spring is one of my favorite times of the year to visit the Valley when the waterfalls are flowing strong, the air is clear, and snow cover remains on the peaks of the high country. This post is the first in a series of recent outings in Yosemite Valley, including the North Rim Loop (~22 miles), Clouds Rest (~20 miles), and Tenaya Rim Loop (~45 miles). Here are some photos, a short video, and description of the North Rim Loop; expect photos and descriptions from Clouds Rest and Tenaya Rim Loop to follow.

The North Rim Loop is a classic of Yosemite Valley including the following highlights: Yosemite Falls, Yosemite Point, North Dome, Indian Rock Arch, Snow Creek, and Mirror Lake. The total distance for the loop is around 22 miles with 7,000 feet of elevation gain (and the vast majority of the gain coming on the initial climb up Yosemite Falls). Half Dome is the marquee feature of the route, particularly from North Dome where its sheer North Face dominates the view and captures attention. The views of Half Dome descending the Snow Creek trail are equally inspiring with amazing relief from valley bottom to the top of the iconic granite monolith. Yosemite Falls was near peak flow; it’s remarkable to know that this roaring plume of water will become a trickle in a couple months. The Yosemite Falls trail can be hot and crowded, but know that beyond the Falls, the crowds peter out rapidly and the temperatures cool. In fact, after a short climb above Yosemite Point, the trail enters a beautiful forest of Sugar Pine and Knobcone Pine. North Dome is rarely busy, owing to its fairly long distance from the Valley, but it showcases one of the best views in the park. Beyond North Dome is Indian Rock Arch, a relatively unknown gem in the park. While the arch is the largest in Yosemite, it’s small compared to the arches in the American southwest. However, this “delicate” arch is beautiful with its position on top of a rock formation affording a commanding overlook of the surrounding mountains and Half Dome across Tenaya Canyon. Strava route for North Rim Loop here.

After wrapping up 2012 with an amazing skate ski to Glacier Point, we started 2013 with a classic snowshoe hike to Dewey Point, one of the most magnificent views of Yosemite Valley any time of the year, but especially breathtaking in the winter. Along the way to the point we encountered a winter wonderland in the forest and meadows with countless picturesque scenes. At Dewey Point, we marveled at the snowy view of the Yosemite high country and the colossal granite cliffs of El Capitan immediately across the Valley. From a small point, I gazed down nearly vertical cliffs to the Wawona Tunnel and Meced River nearly 3,000 feet below. On the way to Dewey Point we took the Dewey Ridge trail and on the way back we utilized Dewey Meadows and then the old Glacier Point Road to make for a nice loop (route on Strava). Complete photo here.